Hearing in murder case continued to August

A hearing to determine if a Whitmore Lake man’s statement to police regarding the killing of his 23-year-old sister-in-law was continued Friday to Aug. 26.

At least two officers are expected to testify at the hearing for Nicholas Allen Foerster, 25, whom police say confessed to chocking his sister-in-law, Rachelle Wood, for seven minutes knowing it would cause her death.

However, Foerster’s attorney said the statement was not voluntarily made, which means a jury should not hear it.

“They were the product of many hours of the police badgering the defendant, who had never before been in trouble with the law and only after his request to talk to his lawyer was ignored,” defense attorney James Buttrey argued in a motion filed in Circuit Court.

The prosecution denies the defense’s allegation.

Both sides were in court Friday to begin the hearing and they provided to Judge Michael P. Hatty a transcript and video of Foerster’s police interrogation. Hatty is expected to ask both the defense and prosecution to submit briefs following testimony at the August hearing, which means a decision would not be immediate.

Foerster, who is being held without bond for first-degree murder, reported to police that he found Wood unclothed and dead in the bathtub in her apartment on Haley Lane in Green Oak Township, authorities alleged.

Police initially indicated that a family member who checked on Wood on June 16 reported that he did so after she failed to show for work.

Upon arrival, responders found Wood had been dead for an “extended” period of time. Neither police nor the prosecutor’s office further explained the period of time. They also have declined to release additional details due to the ongoing prosecution.